| (1) | Langara | 75 | ||||||
| (8) | Mt. St. Vincent | 47 | Langara | 76 | ||||
| (4) | Humber | 79 | Humber | 73 | Langara | 91 | ||
| (5) | Grant MacEwan | 56 | ||||||
| —–LANGARA | ||||||||
| (2) | Dawson | 105 | ||||||
| (7) | Lethbridge CC | 77 | Dawson | 74 | Dawson | 85 | ||
| (3) | Sheridan | 84 | Sheridan | 69 | ||||
| (6) | Thompson Rivers | 76 |
In the quarterfinals, held in Edmonton, the 3rd-seeded Sheridan Bruins defeated the 6th-seeded wild-card Thompson Rivers (then the Cariboo) Sun Demons 84-76 after blasting out to the big lead in the first half and taking a 41-32 lead into the lockers. Cariboo closed to within five late in the second half but Sheridan prevailed. Bryan Harris led the Bruins with 18 points. Curt Dale paced the Sun Demons with 17.
The 2nd-seeded Dawson Blues hammered the 7th-seeded host Lethbridge CC Kodiaks 105-77 as they took command early and never eased off the pedal. The Kodiaks were mismatched by Dawson’s sharpshooting attack. The Blues shot .560 from the floor, while Lethbridge shot 10-27 from the line. Patrice Antoine led Dawson with 16. Jacques Vigneault added 14. Craig McArthur led Lethbridge with 11. Charlton Weasel Head added 10 and Andrew Baird 10. The Blues rained treys on the Kodiaks. Lethbridge coach Craig Anderson said “I really thought we had the right game plan going in, playing a three-two zone to get out on their shooters. We knew they could shoot the ball but they came out and didn’t miss.” Cornell bound Jacques Vigneault hit a pair of treys early as the Blues took an 11-2 lead. Patrice Antoine added a pair of treys to quickly put the outcome out of reach. McArthur said “I thought we did a decent job of getting out on them, getting our hands up, being in their face. They just hit their shots. You have to give them credit. I thought we came out with good excitement, we had a good talk in the room, and we were ready to run with them. But they are very good, very athletic. That’s what the Eastern schools bring.” The Blues hit 15 of their first 17 points and 21 of their first 30 from beyond the arc. They led 51-31 at the half and rattled the Kodiaks with their full court press. “Any time you get to this level of competition, you have to play your best,” said Kodiak guard Andrew Baird. “I didn’t think we had a problem with the press. We moved the ball, but we couldn’t buy a basket.” The Kodiaks hit 10-27 from the line.
The top-seeded Langara Falcons stomped the 8th-seeded Mount St. Vincent Mystics 75-47. The Falcons only led by 12 at the half but their defence took command in the second half, forcing 21 Mount St. Vincent turnovers. James Maksymiw led the Falcons with 21. Peter Turnbull paced the Mystics with 14.
In the last quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded wild card Humber Hawks defeated the 5th-seeded host Grant MacEwan Griffins 79-56. The Hawks ran their way to a 37-24 lead at the half after ripping off a 22-4 run late in the frame. The Griffins rallied to within eight in the second half but the rally fell short on the heels of 26 turnovers, a poor .400 from the floor and a 16-5 Hawks run. Humber scored 29 points off 26 turnovers, while Grant MacEwan managed just seven transition points. Isaac King led Humber with 21 points. Chuma Nwobosi led Grant MacEwan with 12. “The difference was nerves,” Grant MacEwan’s Tom Coyne told the Edmonton Journal. “Our guys came out with butterflies. We were pretty nervous for the first half.” Coach Jim Bonin added that “if you shoot poorly and turn the ball over, you won’t win a whole lot of basketball games.” Griffins point guard Dan Rosnau struggled, scoring just 4 and often mishandling the ball. “I was just upset with myself,” he said. “I’d never played against ball pressure like that all year. It was tough for me to get used to it.”
In the bronze quarterfinals, the 7th-seeded Lethbridge Kodiaks defeated the 6th-seeded Thompson Rivers Sun Demons 79-74 after leading 43-23 at the half. The Kodiaks opened with a 20-5 run triggered by a pair of Charlton Weasel Head treys. They led 43-23 at the half before holding on for the win as Weasel Head hit four free throws in the final minute. Weasel Head paced the Kodiaks with 20 on 9-10 from the line. Craig McArthur added 14, Dustin Miller 12, Andrew Baird 10, Rob Izsak 10 and Trevor Vant’land 9 boards. Andrew Fisher led the Sun Demons with 16. “We came out today to play this one or pride,” Kodiak guard Charlton Weasel Head told the Lethbridge Herald. “We wanted to show the ACAC that we want to win some games, we’re not here for fun. We feel we deserve to be here. (The first half) was probably the best half we’ve played all year. Everybody stepped up. We were finally hitting our shots, our transition was good, and our defence was super.” Kodiaks coach Craig Anderson said “Charlton just refused to lose. That was the thing. He showed his leadership. I thought all our veterans stepped up.” Weasel Head said “I was a lot more focused today. Our veterans stepped up, and when the rookies see us doing that, then everyone gets the energy to get going.” Rob Izasak noted that “our defence was huge. We had some great pressure on the ball, others came up with steals and it all led to instant offence.” The Sun Demons also included Ryan Porter.
In the other bronze quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Grant MacEwan Griffins thumped the 8th-seeded Mount St. Vincent Mystics 66-48. The Griffins hit 55% from the floor, while the Mystics hit 32%. Jeff Loomis led the Griffins with 18. Craig Sampson paced the Mystics with 16. Griffins point guard Dan Rosnau scored 10 and dished 12 assists. “We came out more composed, more comfortable,” Rosnau told the Edmonton Journal. “I put a lot of pressure on myself. As point guards, we have to control the game. If I’m not playing well, it’s really tough for our team to get into it offensively.” Rosnau twice pilfered the ball, once for a runout, and once setting up Jeff Loomis for a runout as the Griffins took command late in the first half. “We were a little looser,” said Rosnau. “We weren’t as uptight in the locker room. Like, I was smiling and stuff in warm-ups. We were having more fun. (On Thursday), we were all uptight, we were all getting at each other, complaining a lot. It was like a snowball effect.”
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Dawson Blues defeated the 3rd-seeded Sheridan Bruins 74-69 despite being held to less than .420 from the floor by the Bruins defence. Sheridan shot .480 but Dawson took 30 trips to the line, as opposed to Sheridan’s 16, and hit eight more foul shots. Donald Joseph led Dawson with 14. Shane Bascoe led Sheridan with 17.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Langara Falcons edged the 4th-seeded Humber Hawks 76-73. The Hawks appeared to be command but Randy Nohr took control, leading the Falcons on a 15-6 run in the last five minutes, scoring eight points and making a key steal as Langara overcame Humber in a rematch of the 1998 final. With a six-point lead and the Falcons in foul trouble, it looked like Langara was in trouble. But riding Nohr’s 28-point barrage and .540 shooting from the floor, Langara overcame Humber’s rebounding, steals and turnover advantage. The Hawks ran out of gas late. They were paced by Isaac King’s 21 points. Humber led 42-35 at the half. Hawks coach Mike Katz told The Coven that Nohr “was tremendous but they’re more than just one guy. They did everything that you have to do to win close games.” Nohr said experience was critical. “It helped playing in the championship game last year. We were down 10 points with seven minutes to go. I think it all comes down to our coach; he’s such a positive guy. He’s always telling us we’re going to win.” Hawks post James Ausbaugh said “you carry a lead all the way through three quarters and then come up short, it’s a hard way to end the season.”
In the bronze semis, the 3rd-seeded Sheridan Bruins edged the 5th-seeded Grant MacEwan Griffins 74-69. The Bruins opened with a 15-2 run to take command. Mike George led Sheridan with 16. Hugh Bent added 11. Trevor Harrington and Jeff Loomis each scored 15 to lead the Griffins.
In the other bronze semi, the 7th-seeded Lethbridge Kodiaks defeated the 4th-seeded Humber Hawks 69-64. Charlton Weasel Head paced the Kodiaks with 19 points, 9 assists and 7 boards. Andrew Baird, McArthur and Rob Stirling all added 10. Charlton Weasel head had 9 assists and 7 boards. Jeremy Murray led the Hawks with 14. Kodiaks coach Craig Anderson told the Lethbridge Herald the upset was par for the course. “I’ve always been an underdog coach and LCC has been an underdog program. We have to keep earning our respect.” The Hawks had only nine players in uniform. Assistant coach David ‘Scotchy’ DeAveiro told The Coven that “after a loss like that (in the semis), it’s hard to come out the next day. And knowing you have to play one game just to get to the bronze, I don’t like the concept.”
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Sheridan Bruins defeated the 7th-seeded Lethbridge CC Kodiaks 90-66. The Bruins trailed early with some foul trouble. But the bench came up big as Sheridan walloped the Kodiak bench 38-24 for the affair. Sheridan led 36-17 at the half and hit a phenomenal .620 from the floor in the second half to ice the win. Bryan Harris and Shane Bascoe led Sheridan with 12 apiece. Lethbridge was led by Craig McArthur’s 15 points. Kodiaks rookie head coach Craig Anderson told the Lethbridge Herald that fatigue was factor. “I think that’s one of the reasons (we struggled). We work so hard on defence — we have to — and our legs weren’t there in our shots. And you have to make those shots when you are playing for bronze in the nationals.” Guard Charlton Weasel head said “the last time I played two games in a row was in preseason. I know my legs were really sore. We had guys sleeping five minutes before we had to be ready to leave (for the gym).” Forward Trevor Vantland noted “we were tired, but they also had to play two games. It is no excuse. It just came down to who executed, and they did a better job.” Sheridan broke to an eight-point lead but the Kodiaks rallied to a 22-17 edge. But the momentum swung when Rob Izsak drew a technical, after complaining loudly about a call, allowing the Bruins to rip off a 19-5 run. “The technical was key, because we lost Izsak with four fouls,” said Anderson. “I think the refs did a good job. It might have been a weak call, but in a situation like this you can’t take that chance. An official never wants to be embarrassed. In the first half we had the looks, the good shots If we could have been leading at half, or even tied, it might have been a different story. But we were nine down (36-27). We had to play our best game. Defensively in the first half I thought we were good, but offensively we couldn’t bury our shots. We had the guys shooting who we wanted to have shoot, but things didn’t turn out for us.” Shane Bascoe and Bryan Harris each scored 12 to pace the Bruins. Weasel Head led the Kodiaks 15. Colin Sheen added 11 and Izsak 10. The Kodiaks hit 6-26 from the arc. Weasel Head told The Endeavour that the Kodiaks were “proud” of their fourth-place finish. “Going into the tournament ranked seventh and coming out fourth, the whole experience was a lot of fun. I can’t make any excuses, but the last time we played two games in the same day was in pre-games.” Anderson said “the whole experience was unbelievable. Coming in fourth is huge for us. Playing two games in one day was tough, but they played really well.” The Kodiaks (coached by Craig Anderson) also included Rob Izsak, Rob Stirling, Andy Beres, Dustin Miller.
In the final, the top-seeded Langara Falcons won their second straight title when all-Canadian guard Randy Nohr engineered a late second half comeback that led to a 91-85 win over the 2nd-seeded Dawson Blues in a repeat of the 1998 final. With Dawson leading by six with 4:20 to play, Nohr delivered two key passes as Langara rallied to tie it 83-83. He then drove the lane for the go-ahead layup and gave the Falcons a lead they’d never relinquish. Nohr hit 14-15 from the line while scoring a staggering 40 points. He added six assists and five steals. Patrice Antoine led the Blues with 18. Although wooed heavily by several Canada West teams, the tournament MVP subsequently enrolled at St. Francis Xavier, where he led the X-Men to a pair of CIS titles. The Falcons closed out the final with a 16-2 run to steal the win. Coach Kevin Hanson said Nohr’s will was the difference. “Randy’s just awesome. When the game’s on the line, he comes to play. He’s that good.” With the scored knotted at 85 with 90 seconds to play, Nohr fed the ball inside to post James Maksymiw for a bucket. Seconds later he drove the paint and converted a spectacular underhanded layup to make it 89-85. He iced the win with a pair of free throws. Nohr, who played all 40 minutes, called it a “good” performance “because it came in a big game. I played pretty good. But I didn’t shoot the ball overly well.”
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Randy Nohr (Langara); Prosper Karangwa (Dawson); Paul Stevens (Dawson); Charlton Weasel Head (Lethbridge); Shane Bascoe (Sheridan); and Jeremy Murray (Humber)
The 2nd-team featured: Tasso Kanavos (Langara); Jeff Loomis (Grant MacEwan); Craig Sampson (Mount Saint Vincent); Andrew Fisher (Cariboo); and Mike Alleyne (Sheridan)
The bronze medalist Sheridan Bruins: The gold medalist Sheridan Bruins: Shane Bascoe; Bryan Harris; Mike George; Mike Alleyne; Chris Williams; Andrew Muir; Chris Bennett; Scott Chisholm; Brue White; Ricardo Edwards; Kris Ceelen; Elvis Dennis; Hugh Bent; coach Jim Flack
The silver medalist Dawson Blues: Patrice Antoine; Prosper Karangwa; Donald Joseph; Jacques Vigneault; Rodwins Auriantal; Ross Corbett; Wayne Desmond; coach Olga Hrycak
The gold medalist Langara Falcons: Randy Nohr; James Maksymiw; Tasso Kanavos; Richard Bell; Jamie Oei; Minko Kulic; Brent Molinski; Gil Cheung; Colin MacDonald; Jeff Dallin; Rick Brar; Mark Tasic; James Derouin; Pete Hodson; Aaron Mitchell; coach Kevin Hanson